So there it is. It happened. Again. I am back to the MVP Program as a PowerPoint MVP!

Some of you may know that back then when I was a SQL Server person, I got the SQL Server MVP award and held it for three consecutive years. Of course, it didn’t happen easy as my application was declined first but that just motivated me even more to push even harder and prove Microsoft that I deserved that recognition. I was 22 back then and probably was one of the youngest MVPs Microsoft has ever had…

Then 356labs happened and that… changed a lot of things. Most importantly – changed the fact that I was not contributing to the SQL Server world anymore and so I told Microsoft that they will have to drop me out of the program because I don’t deserve the MVP status anymore. Why? I was just not doing anything SQL. Simple as that.

However, since we launched 356labs, our presentation agency, I started doing a ton of PowerPoint work – wrote 300+ blog posts, organized and participated in tens if not even hundreds of events, pushed the product and built a community of people who understood that PowerPoint can actually be used to create presentations that win multimillion-dollar deals, and win huge investments. So I asked myself – why shouldn’t I try and get the PowerPoint MVP award?

I tried. I submitted my application almost 2 years after we started 356labs and pushed so hard all of the things above. The result? Got rejected. Why? They wanted to see that I will continue to do what I do because it’s just been an year or two now and that’s not enough.

Well, I agree. That’s really the case and honestly speaking, it makes sense. That’s why I continued to push and pushed even harder. I thought myself that I need to do so much so that I will put Microsoft in a position where they don’t have any other option but to give me the award(yeap, one of the MVP leads will tell you that these are the exact words I told him). When I submitted my application again I had more than 55 activities(as Microsoft calls them) and just one of them were the 300+ articles(to give you context of how much effort it takes).

On February 1, while waiting for the confirmation mail, I received a tweet from a friend who is a SQL Server MVP and the tweet was saying that I got the award… I still don’t know why they pushed this information through FB instead of email but let’s not get into this one. 😉

Lesson from the story: Never give up! I learned that looking at the people who inspired me and who achieved things I admired and hopefully this short article will once again remind you that this old advice “Never give up!” is here for a reason. It’s here because it’s true.

Thanks to everyone who made this award possible and especially to everyone in our team at 356labs. That was not going to be possible without your effort!

I am extremely happy to announce that I am back to the event and that I will be able to speak for the incredible Serbian community!

On 8th of April, I will deliver a session named “The Secret of Engaging Presentations” and to be honest, I can’t wait for the moment to come! I still remember how I was completely shocked to see that more than 800 people showed up for the event in 2015. Not to mention the incredible work that the team behind the conference did! It was a crazy experience and I feel privileged to be able to part of the event again!

Are you going to be there?

Let me know in the comments if so!

Update: The event went great and even though I spent only a few hours at the venue, I am so happy I got back and presented again. I had a very small audience this time – not more than 30 people, but boy were they absorbing (and taking some of our stickers afterwards). My presentation is below and to be honest, I would love to go back and deliver for this community. It’s just one of those places where you can feel that people want to learn…

On Saturday, I will be talking about the mistakes I did when starting 356labs!

And on Sunday, I am delivering a 2-hour workshop on how to craft a truly engaging presentation!

Can’t wait to see those young, ambitions and extremely opened to learn young people at the American University in Blagoevgrad! I have already talked there twice and that is the reason why I am going back again!

Hope to see you there!

Update: The conference went great! There were some tech glitches at the start of my session, but we fixed them quite quickly(hopefully you will see how the audience reacted on the upcoming videos). And as for the workshop – more than 80 people showed up! Overall, a fantastic weekend full of great young people who always inspire me with their willingness to learn!

Videos coming soon…

Update: The videos are now here! First is my talk(fire!) on my mistakes while starting 356labs and then its a two-hour workshop I delivered on how to create engaging presentations.

A few weeks ago I was privileged to be invited to speak at the American University in Blagoevgrad. It was not exactly the university who invited me, though, but one of the clubs they have – the Business Club.

To be honest here, it is absolutely rare to see such a motivated and already educated group of young people. We spoke about the world of presenting, some tips and tricks on how they can stay up to date and always ahead in their game and lastly, about personal branding and it’s importance.

…of course they also asked me if I did mistakes when starting 356labs and I shared just 3 of them. We didn’t have the time to share at least 20 more…

Once again – great time with the students, who were also from all over the world, fantastic job by the organizers and already looking forward to go back and spend some time with them again!